A3o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 4,* 1384
Many
(Continued trom Page Al)
Preliminary evaluation of the
computer spraying program has
shown that it has some advantages
over the alternate method of
spraying every 7 to 10 days, ac
cording to Mac Nab.
"Our modified computer spray
program is working very well and
is encouraging,” Mac Nab said.
“It has resulted in an average of
two less sprays per season (with
resultant production cost savings)
and defoliation rates due to early
blight were kept just as low as
under the regular spraying
program.”
Mac Nab explained that research
will continue into the computer
spraying program before any
widespread application can be
considered.
The grower-sponsored research
is being conducted at Cornell and
Rutgers, in addition to Penn State.
Other crops involved in the
research include sweet corn, sweet
peppers and snap beans. In ad
dition, a study at Penn State is
investigating factors that affect
vegetable consumption to deter
mine consumer target groups at
which promotion of vegetables
might be directed.
Among findings coming out of
some of these other studies are
-The bottom line of herbicide
use in vegetables is determining
the active ingredient price of the
chemical being used and most
important its cost per acre. Soil
type also has a great effect on
herbicide rate use.
-Selection of the proper type and
consistency of lime is very im
portant in vegetable production,
such as tomatoes and sweet corn.
For fertilizer, NPK has shown the
best results for tomatoes and NP
for sweet corn.
In vegetable consumption
studies, a prune target group
appears to be young, single women
just beginning their careers.
Higher consumption in this group
may require changes in fresh
marketing, such as smaller
packages, better trimming and
encouraging raw consumption.
The research program, ad
ministered by the Pa. Department
of Agriculture, is handled by an
advisory group of 12 fresh and
processing growers. Projects are
selected on the basis of grower
preferences and the acreage and
value of crops involved. Selection
of the coming year’s projects,
involving some $30,000 in funding,
will be made about mid-month.
Tomatoes also came in for a
different kind of news at the
conference when the champion
growers were honored at the an
nual awards luncheon on Tuesday.
Participating in the awards
program were Vaughn Staller,
Furman plant manager; Rocco V.
Pughese, executive director, Pa.
Food Processors Association; and
Michael D. Orzolek, of Penn
State’s Horticulture Extension.
Winners in the various
categories of competition:
-Clyde Burnham, of Northeast,
Erie County, in the Machine
Harvest category of 100 or more
acres, with a yield of 2,629 tons
from 108 acres for an average of
24.3 tons an acre.
-William and Brian Beckman, of
Harborcreek, Erie County, in
Machine Harvest of 75 to 99 acres,
with a yield of 2,458 tons from 91.3
acres for an average of of 26.9 tons
an acre.
Robert W. Schwartz, R 1 Lykens,
Dauphin County, in Machine
Harvest of 50 to 74 acres, with a
yield of 1,431 tons from 72 acres for
an average of 19.6 tons per acre.
Hannah Schwartz, R 1 Lykens,
Dauphin County, in Machine
Harvest of 20 to 49 acres, with a
yiel.d of 928 tons from 35 acres for
an average of 26.5 tons an acre.
Chaapel Farms, of R 2 Milton,
Montour Countv, in the Hand
topics at Pa. Vegetable Conference
Champion tomato growers honored
icr and son, the Robert Schwartz’s, of R 1 Lykens,
County.
Harvest of 50 or more acres, with a
yield of 1,527 tons from 62 acres for
an average of 24.6 tons per acre.
-Lester W. Hursh, of R 1 Mount
Joy, Lancaster County, in the
Hand Harvest of 5 to 14 acres, with
a yield of 191.8 tons from 6.5 acres
for an average of 29.5 tons an acre.
The three-day conference at
Hershey also included a large
trade show, which attracted a
record number of 136 exhibitors.
And stretched across the three
days were other numerous
Peach vote
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approved and the selection of
specific projects by next year.
“We are hoping to get the
research under way for 1985 so that
another season of study would not
be lost,” explained Strite.
“There’s a real research need in
this area and we want to get it
started.”
The peach and nectarine
research would be the second such
program of grower-sponsored
horticultural studies. Apple
growers have funded research for
quite a few years in Pennsylvania.
In such programs, the research is
supported entirely by the grower
assessments and any con
tributions, while the PDA only
administers the program.
In other matters at the Hort
Assn, business session;
-George Hekman, of Leesport,
Berks County, assumed the
presidency of the association.
-And, the Association passed a
resolution to support efforts of
PACMA to get equal treatment
concerning the unfair competition
being caused by imported apple
juice concentrate. Being requested
is a token tariff on the imports and
inspection to make certain they
meet the same quality standards of
domestic producers.
County.
production topics, ranging from
what new varieties are available
for planting this year to the effects
of ozone damage, which is
multiplied just a little more each
lime we may use a spray can.
And among the topics on Wed
nesday morning were minor
vegetable crops for Pennsylvania,
Winter damage
life span of Pa. peach trees
BY JUDY HULL
BIGLERVILLE Below zero
temperatures experienced
recently throughout the state have
fruitgrowers and researchers
concerned about the adverse effect
on fruit trees, primarily peach
trees. The extremely low tem
peratures coupled with the drought
stress many trees experienced this
past summer make for prime
conditions for winter injury.
Although fruit growers have
always had to deal with the effects
of the weather on their trees, in
recent years a decline in the
lifespan of peach trees statewide
has caused researchers to take a
closer look at possible causes. The
decline has been studied by Penn
State University research and
extension personnel for the past
two and one-half years under the
Peach Integrated Crop
Management (PICM) Project. The
study has helped identify those
factors that contribute to a tree’s
shortened lifespan. It has deter
mined that in a significant number
of cases, winter injury probably
was the primary cause for the high
mortality figure.
Pennsylvania ranks among the
top four states in peach production
nationally. The annual value of the
crop is estimated to be $ll to $l9
Brian and William Beckman, of Harborcreek, Erie County.
inciuumg such uungs us gdim,
rhubarb and something that was
making big news last year -
Jerusalem artichokes.
The gist of recommendations
from the Penn Staters was to go
slow and small on such crops,
making certain of markets.
And come to think of it two of ihe
million. Adams County is one of the
five leading peach producing
counties in the state with a total
crop value of $3 to $4 million an
nually.
Life span slips
According to George M. Greene,
pomologist at the Penn State Fruit
Research Laboratory in Bigler
ville, the average life span of a
peach tree has slipped to about 10
to 12 years.
"The health of a peach tree is
influenced by many factors in
cluding how it is pruned, where it is
planted, rootstock, variety, or
chard nutrition, soil conditions,
drought stress, parasitic
nematodes, and disease or insect
stress,” Greene said. All of these
factors, he added, help determine
whether a tree will be able to
survive if exposed to harsh winter
temperatures.
Fruit trees experience a three
stage process of hardening to
prepare for winter survival, ac
cording to Greene. The first stage
begins in August or September
when the days begin to get shorter.
If a tree is healthy at that point, he
explained, the hardening process
successfully begins. He added,
however, excessive tree vigor can
interfere with the first stage.
representing Lester Hursh, R 1 Mt. Joy,
Lancaster County.
crops, rhubarb and the artichokes
have something in common.
Last year’s experience of some
artichoke growers, particularly in
1 Lancaster County, should leave
about as bad a taste in the mouth
as 1 used to have when 1 bit into a
raw stalk of rhubarb as a kid.
is shortening
The second stage occurs with the
onset of frosty nights. To suc
cessfully advance to this stage, the
trees must still have their leaves
and a supply of carbohydrates or
sugars to store for energy and
future growth.
With the drought conditions of
this past summer, Greene said it is
possible that the carbohydrates
needed to sustain the trees during
this winter are present in lower
amounts than normal since the
trees did not have the soil and
water conditions needed to
produce the sugars. If this is the
case, the second stage of hardiness
will be affected and the tree will be
significantly weakened.
The third stage takes place when
the tree’s tissues are frozen. “The
trees can continue to gain har
diness at a few degrees each day if
the tissues in the trees stay frozen
until it reaches its maximum
hardiness depending upon its
species and variety,’’ he said.
Because of this three-staged
process, it is better for a tree to
experience continuous cold tem
peratures. “The hardiness a tree
has acquired in the third stage is
lost as soon as the tissue thaws,”
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Second stage
Continuous cold